If you are a mental health professional (or an allied health professiona) with an online presence, then you know how critical it is that you control your online identity.  It’s not a matter of simply slapping up a website or blog.  You need to stay on top of how you name is being used and who else might be using it.

Sree Sreenivasan has written an informative post at DNAinfo entitled Identity in the Age of Facebook.  In her post, she identifies at least four things you need to do to maximize your control over your online identity.  Take a look and let me know what you did with the suggestions she provided.

Tags: Professional Image, Security

The Importance of Hospitality

I read this terrific post on the importance of hospitality in business and it reminded me to talk with you today about a recent visit to my doctor’s office.  After several years of my phone calls not being returned, I decided to leave my (now former) primary care physician and go in search of another.

Trying Again . . . .

In February, I went see to Dr. Kari Barton for my first annual physical exam with her.  She was excellent . . . .  She was engaged, took her time, and listened carefully before offering her judgment and suggestions for my health care.  She didn’t avoid the difficult conversations.  She took a proactive and preventative approach.  In short, she was everything that I had hoped for and I am looking forward to a long term relationship with this smart and savvy young doctor.

Uh-oh . . . .

However, her front office staff was less than ideal.   They were not warm.  They were not friendly.  They did nothing to welcome a new patient or put her at ease.  They grumbled to each other about having “too many things to do” (and that was within earshot of three patients waiting to see their respective doctors).  They were not ranking high on the hospitality index.

Enlightened Hospitality

Just because they serve you, doesn’t mean they like you.   ~ Clerks, 1994 In Dave Morgan’s post, What’s Your Hospitality Index?, he writes about the “legendary restauranteur,” Danny Meyer and his “secret sauce” for opening 20 restaurants in 20 years without one closing. Meyer’s secret? “Enlightened hospitality.” Meyer points out that most businesses assess the quality of  the location, the product (clinical competence?), and the price but fail to give consideration to their “hospitality index.” Meyer’s management has been described as “maniacal about hiring people who express a spirit for caring for others, that have the emotional capacity to deliver extraordinary hospitality.”

Your Hospitality Index

Now I know what you’re thinking . . . that this should be a no-brainer for those of us in the health care professions, right?  After all, surely we care about our clients . . . don’t we?   But, the truth is that it’s not a no-brainer . . . and sometimes we don’t care . . . or at least it can seem like that to our clients . . . . In any case, I think it’s worth your time to consider (and, yes, even measure) your hospitality index . . . not your intentions but whether or not your clients actually feel taken care of.

What is it that you are doing that actually lets your clients feel that you are taking care of them above and beyond the professional standard of care?  Let’s give them something to talk about!

Tags: Hospitality, Professional Image, Take Care of Your Client

If you still haven’t taken the time to have a business card made for yourself, then you are making a big BIG mistake.

Here’s two things that you really need to know . . . .  Your cheapest form of marketing is a great business card. They can cost you as little as six dollars for 250 at an on line printing service like VistaPrint or they can cost you as much as several hundred dollars for 1000 from a local printer like Maverick Press in Littleton, Colorado.   Your design, choice of paper and quantity ordered factor in to your final costs but any way you figure it, your business card is your least expensive marketing cost and is the most versatile tool you will use.

The second thing you need to know about your business card is that once you hand it over to another professional and leave the premises, it serves as a reminder of who you are and how to reach you. Think about it . . . .  I told you about that old adage “last in, first out.”  That means that if your business card keeps your name in front of other professionals’ eyes last, then your name is the one that is likely to be recalled when they are ready to call with a referral.  Last in, first out.

And, here’s one more thing you need to know about having a business card.  It’s the professional thing to do.  No CEO, no professional, and no office manager is going to refer clients to you until you take yourself seriously enough to get decent business card. Think about it. . . .  Having a business card implies that you are serious about your professional services. . . . It implies that you have some degree of stability i.e. your address, website, and phone number aren’t changing daily. . . .  And, it implies that you have something of value to offer.

Still putting off getting that business card? P-L-E-A-S-E!  What’s keeping you from taking that step?  Let me know and I’ll be happy to nudge you along!

Tags: Business Card, Professional Image

This is the fifth part of an 11 part series on How To Build A Great Marketing Kit.

Before you read further, you may want to read the introduction here.

The next items that you want to collect are reprints of any articles that have been written about you. Perhaps you wrote a great thesis in graduate school and the departmental newsletter made mention of it.

Or, perhaps you were elected to chair your local professional association and an article was written about you.

Did the local newspaper write an article about your community involvement?

Did the American Cancer Society write a booklet about your experience as a survivor or exemplary volunteer?

Any article that can reflect positively on your professional image is appropriate to include in your marketing kit. By including these items, you can increase your credibility, likability, familiarity, and common ground on which to build professional relationships with your potential referral sources.

Tags: Newspaper, Professional Image, Relationships, Reprints

This is the introduction to an 11 part series to help you
build a great marketing kit.

What do you need to take with you when you are marketing your practice to other professionals?

• A business card
• Your professional bio (NOT a resume) – to highlight your expertise
• A menu / description of your services
• Article reprints about you
• Article reprints that you have written
• Press releases
• A brochure / fact sheet
• Client testimonials
• A personalized cover letter
• A portfolio

Take a few minutes right now to gather the items that you already have from the list above.  For now,  just take an inventory to see which ones are missing from your marketing kit.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be talking to you in detail about the specifics of these 10 essential items – helping you create the ones you don’t have and, hopefully, helping you improve on the ones that are not presenting the professional image that you desire.

I hope you will drop me a note (by adding a comment below) to let me know if you have your marketing kit in order.

Tags: Biography, Cover Letter, Fact Sheet, Menu of Services, Portfolio, Press Release, Professional Image, Resume, Testimonial